Emberton Country Park, Milton Keynes review

Emberton Country Park is one of only two large parks in Milton Keynes which has play equipment, a lake and public loos. The other being Willen Lake. You only pay to park to visit. It’s one of a number of independent reviews of country parks you can find on this website. If you find it useful and visit anywhere featured do consider buying me a coffee to support the running of Milton Keynes Kids. 

Where is Emberton Country Park? 

Emberton Country Park is in Milton Keynes – all be in on the outskirts just before Olney. The postcode is MK46 5FJ. You can walk in on foot for free. If you’re travelling by car then there’s a car park which you pay to park in. At the entrance there’s a pay booth, The cost of parking varies depending on the time of year at which you visit. This review is based on our latest visit in 2020 and at the time of writing it was either £2 between November and March and £4.50 between April and October. 

What are the best bits about Emberton Country Park in Milton Keynes? 

A short walk from the main car park is a really good play area. The highlights include a pirate ship and a big green twisty slide. The green slide is quite quick so bear that in mind if you have younger children. There’s also a metal slide, wobbly bridge, floor trampoline and roundabout. Some of the play equipment could do with upgrading but it’s still fun. It’s in a good sized area. You will need to watch the children as it’s not gated and you can also walk out the other end. 

Are there other play areas at Emberton Country Park? 

Before you get to the play area mentioned above, look to the right, there’s a sandpit with diggers and also a stones area with pulleys. Both are good fun although could do with updating a little. If you follow the road around to the right past the play area mentioned above and walk around the lake, you’ll come to another play area. There’s a wooden structure with small slide and a triangle climbing frame thing and a rocket. This play area is often quieter than the other one. 

What else do we need to know about Emberton Country Park and are there any downsides? 

There are toilets. There is a cafe. There’s also some gym equipment. The lake isn’t huge and is a circular walk around. But there are no other toilets other than the ones by the car park so I’d suggest if you have young children you might want to make sure they’ve been before you walk. I’d say one of the downsides of Emberton Country Park as a pedestrian is that there is a road that runs right around the park which means if you do that walk then you do constantly have to watch for cars coming. Being one of the only country parks in Milton Keynes it can get really busy there. In the height of the summer people also drive around the lake and then park right on the grass. The other thing you may be interested in is that you can camp there. We haven’t as we live locally but you can find out more information on the Milton Keynes Council website.

Where else can we go that’s near Emberton Country Park? 

Should you want to pop to any shops and support local businesses then Emberton is just outside of Olney which is lovely and well worth a visit. If you want to visit another couple of parks then I’d suggest either Chicheley Street Park in Newport Pagnell or if you have under 5s and are visiting outside of school hours then there’s a cute park in Sherington. 

We liked Emberton Country Park, where else could we go that’s similar? 

Any of the country parks on my website are well worth a visit. Irchester is the closed to Emberton and had some brilliant new play equipment installed in 2020 including an ants nest and eagle themed climbing frames.